Curved, cellular light control panel



June 3, 1958 w. L. LIPSCOMB CURVED, CELLULAR LIGHT CONTROL PANEL 2Sheets-Sheet. 1

Filed Jan. 24. 1955 INVENTOR. WILLIS L. LIPSCOMB Khax dmx June 3, 1958W. L. LIPSCOMB CURVED, CELLULAR LIGHT CONTROL PANEL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Jan. 241' 1955 INVENTOR. WILLIS L. LIPSCOMB United States Patent2,837,632 CURVED, CELLULAR LIGHT CONTROL PANEL Willis L. Lipscomb, SanDiego, Calif. Application January 24, 1955 Serial No. 483,761

2 Claims. '(Cl. 240-78) The present invention relates generally tolouvered panels and more particularly to a curved, cellular lightcontrol panel.

, The primary object of this invention is to provide a cellular panelwhich is curved in cross sectional shape in one direction and in whichall of the cells are oriented in a common direction, so that the panelcan be used as an'efiicient combination light director and shield wherea curved panel is necessary or desirable, the versatility being obvious,particularly in the lighting fixture field where a curved panel greatlyfacilitates achievement of simple yet very attractive fixture design.

Another object "of this invention is to provide a curved, cellular panelwhich is made of translucent material to diifuse a portion of the lightpassing therethrough.

Another object of this invention is to provide a curved cellular lightcontrol panel which can be used with many types of lighting fixtures. iv

Another object of this invention is to provide a curved cellular lightcontrol panel which is "adapted for fabrication from many diflerentmaterials, so that the choice of material can be according-etc thedictates of availability and price considerations, the exact sizes and.proportions being matters easily determined 'to suit particularconditions and needs.

Another object of this invention is to provide a curved cellular lightcontrol panel which is inexpensive and practicable to manufacture.

With these and other objects definitely in view, this invention consistsin the novel construction, combination and arrangement of elements andportions, as will be hereinafter fully described in-the specification,particularly pointed out in the claims, and illustrated in the drawingswhich. form a material part of this disclosure and wherein similarcharacters of reference indicate similar or identical elements andportions throughout the specification and throughout the views of thedrawings, and in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of the panel.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view, from below, of a fixture incorporating thecurved panels.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

'Fig. 4 is a perspective view, from below, of a flush type ceilingfixture fitted with the curved panel.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view, from below, of a further type of ceilingfixture using the curved panels.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 77 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view, similar to Fig. 7, showing the curved panelused in a wall mounted cove fixture.

Fig. 9 is a side elevation view of a street lighting fixture utilizingthe curved panels.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 1010 of Fig. 9.

unit or may beassembled from several panel portions.

Patented June 3, 1958 Fig. 11 is a diagrammatic bottom plan view ofseveral interconnected lighting fixtures, showing the method of joiningthe curved panels.

Referring now to Fig. 1 of the drawings, the panel 10 itself comprises aplurality of spaced, parallel wall elements 12 of constant width whichare curved along their length so that their upper and lower edges areconcave and convex, respectively. These curved wall elements 12 areinterconnected by a plurality of flat, straight wall elements 14, alsoof constant width, which intersect them substantially at right angles todefine a plurality of individual open ended cells 15. The straight wallelements 14 and curved wall elements 12 are all flat plates and areperpendicular to a common plane, so that all of the cells 15 areoriented in the same direction. The entire panel is preferablyconstructed of translucent material, such as plastic .or the like, sothat light passing through the panel is partially diffused. The primaryfield of use for the panel 10 is in luminaires. The panel is combinedwith similar panels and other elements in lighting fixtures orluminaires. I

One use of the panel is shown in Figs. 2 and 3 which illustrate aceiling hung fluorescent luminaire. This luminaire 16 comprises anelongated box member 18 towhich the support hangers 20 are attached,said box member having substantially semi-circular vertical end plates22 in which are mounted the necessary sockets to receive theterminals oftubular lamps 24. The wiring and suspension means of such a luminaire iswell known to those versed in the art and need not be described indetail. The lower outer corners of the opposite end plates 22' areinterconnected by longitudinally flanged rails 26, the end plates 22having similar edge structure, to constitute an open frame 28 on eachside of the luminaire. Each open frame 28 is fitted with a panel 10 ofsuitable size, which may either be constructed as a suitably securedtogether such as by adhesion or thermal bonding. The panels 10 aresupported at their lower edges in the flanged rails 26 while their upperedges rest against the sides of the box member 18. A portion of thelight from the lamps 24 is thus directed upwardly and outwardly throughthe cells 14, while the diffusion through the translucent materialcauses the panels 10 to glow and present a pleasing appearance.Ventilation of the lamps 24 is facilitated by the open cells 14.

In Figs. 4 and 5, the panel 10 is shown fitted to a flush type luminaire30 which is mounted in an opening 32 in the ceiling 34. The luminaire 30comprises a housing 36, the lower end of which is open and on which is abox member 38, the lamps 24 being mounted within said housing. Aroundthe lower edge of the housing 36 is a peripheral flange 40 whichprovides a means for securing the luminaire to the ceiling, the flangealso extending inwardly as at 42 and providing marginal support for thepanel 10. A portion of the light is thus directed downwardly through thecells 14 while the remainder is diffused through the panel structure.

A further use of the panel 10 is shown in Figs. 6 and 7 in a ceilinghung luminaire 44 comprising a box member 18 suspended on supporthangers 20. At each end of the box member 18 is an arcuate end plate 46,the outer corners of the opposed end plates being joined by flangedrails 48 which support the panel 10 at its longitudinal sides. Mountedon the box member 18 are socket members 50 carrying lamps 24. The panel10 may be unitary or may be composed of several panel units 52, whichare shown separated in dotted line in Fig. 7 by way of illustration.

A cove type luminaire 54 is shown in Fig. 8, the structure beinggenerally similar to that of the luminaire 44.

3 In this luminai-re 54, the box member 18 is mounted on a wall 56, orthe like, and has half end plates 58 which have their lower edgesarcuately shaped to fit the panel 10. The end plates 58 are joined attheir outer corners by a fianged rail 48 and at their inner lowercorners by a further flanged rail 69 to support the panel 10.

The luminaire 62 shown in Figs. 9 and 10 is suitable for street lightingand is mounted on a post 64, or the like, by a suitable support member66. The luminaire 62 comprises a box member 68 on which are outwardlyextending reflector panels 70 to deflect downwardly the light from lamps24, which are mounted beneath said box member in socket members '72. Ateach end of the luminaire 62 is an end plate 74 having a generallyarcuate lower edge, the end plates being joined by a centrallongitudinal support rail '76 having opposed, outwardly extendingflanges '78. The outer longitudinal edges of the reflector panels "itlhave downwardly and inwardly turned flanges 84} which, together With theflanges 78, provide marginal supports for a pair of panels 10.

The panel may be constructed with all the wall elements curved. in otherwords, the elements 14 may be curved, in which case the curvature of theelements 12 will vary throughout the panel and the shape of the panelwill approach that of a section of a sphere.

The panel 16) is adaptable to construction of continuous or multipleluminaires for area lighting. Such an arrangement is shown fragmentarilyin Fig. 11 in which a plurality of luminaires 82 are abutted end to endin a row, each having a panel 10 therein. At the end of the row, afurther luminaire may be fitted at right angles thereto simply bycutting each panel 10 at an angle to form a mitered joint, as indicatedat $4, each wall element cut being secured to the corresponding wallelement of the next panel. It will thus be evident that compositeluminaires may be arranged to light particular areas in desiredpatterns, the cellular panels 10 being easily cut and fitted to suit.

The individual cells are not necessarily limited to the square shape asillustrated, but may be made octagonal,

round, or in other shapes by filleting the corners at the intersectionsof wall elements. Such shaping can be in corporated directly into themold if the honeycomb structure is formed as a unit and the variousshapes can be selected to suit the surroundings of the lightingfixtures.

The use of the curved cellular panel is, of course, not limited toluminaires. The panel may be used to control and partially diffusedaylight or sunlight in applications where the curved configuration isdesirable.

I claim:

1. An elongated, rectangular, cellular, light control diffusion panel ofconcave-convex configuration transverse the width thereof, comprising aplurality of spaced, parallel, elongated, translucent, rectangularstrips of light -re-' fiective nature and having upper and lowerstraight edges extending the length of said panel and a plurality ofspaced, parallel, curved, elongated, translucent strips of lightreflective nature and having one concave edge and the opposed edgeconvex, all of said curved strips being curved in the same direction,said straight edged strips intersecting at substantially right angleswith said curved strips, thereby forming a plurality of cells orientedin a common direction, said intersecting strips between their respectivestraight and curved edges forming the walls of each of said respectivecells.

2. The elongated, rectangular, cellular light control concave-convexdiffusion panel of claim 1, wherein the said crossed strips are paralleland planar and said cells formed by the strips are rectangular in shape.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,012,230 Grant Aug. 20, 1935 2,282,445 Alderman et al May 12, 19422,431,656 Barker Nov. 25, 1947 2,745,001 Guth May 8, 1956 FOREIGNPATENTS 864,836 Great Britain Jan. 29, 1953

